You and your wife seem financially savvy to have no debts and have decent savings for your age. It all depends on your priorities and what is important to you, what gives you great joy. Essentially trade-offs. There is no right or wrong answer. Yes, I think you can afford it since you "save&quo...

Thanks for all your help. So, this is what I am leaning towards. Let me know if I am missing anything blatantly obvious. 1. Data - My Wifi device has T-Mobile Simple Choice plan. So, I get 2G speeds in Spain free as part of the plan. I am planning to buy a "data pass" for higher internet ...

I have a T-mobile postpaid plan. It gives unlimited international text and data in most countries around the world i.e. no hidden charges. 20cents/min for US calls while international roaming (free while using tmobile's wifi calling). I keep my phone with data roaming, regular phone mode on all the ...

Anything in Box 9b?Lot of 1099-R I see as part of my AARP TaxAide volunteering have some component that is not-taxable (employee contributions). True often for pensions/annuities. I would just file as reported in 1099-R and let software take care of it.

Some possibilities 1. Combine Vegas and Road Trip to Grand Canyon, Zion Natl Park 2. Fly to San Francisco/San Jose, in addition to SF, do short trips to Napa, Yosemite, Big Sur 3. Yellowstone, Grand Tetons 4. Fly into Moab and do trips to Arches, Canyonlands For a shorter trip (3-4 days), you can ha...

Spirit Rider, Makes sense. In my case, service was provided in December and January (for instance) and payment will be made in early March & April. 60 days after invoice date. So it appears I can go ahead and make the employee (deferral) contribution. I am okay delaying the profit-sharing contri...

I know I will be getting a payment check to my consulting services within the next month. That check would be reported in 2015 1099-Misc, Schedule-C, sole-proprietor. My question is, can I contribute to my 2015 solo 401k (as part of 18K limit) before I receive any payment for 2015? The reason being ...

If ALI is to work in accumulation as well as withdrawal phase - Roth distributions? Any non-taxable pension? What about withdrawal from your assets (bank accounts, proceeds from sale of MFs, Stock - not just Cap Gains/Loss)? I expect my tax returns to not have much resemblence to my spending power. ...

Thanks. Signed up.Had to use the details in OP's fatwallet link and create new username to get the $6 price. If one had previously signed up for TaxAct 2014, it appears to show "My Return Fees" as $17.99 even with the OP link (unless you create a new username using OP link).

Unfortunately yes. We had to act fairly quickly, as ticket prices dropped extremely quickly yesterday and slowly crept back up. Air fare is only costing $750 pp round trip from USA East Coast. Normally this trip is 1300 or more per person. We had to act somewhat quickly. Another thing we are thinki...

We usually use the Capital one cash back (1.5%) rewards and Schwab bank account during our international travels. From my research a couple of years back it seemed like Capital one CC not only had the no foreign transaction fee but also good/best exchange rates. Unfortunately, no chip so what has e...

About what I expected despite US Airways checkin, boarding passes, equipment and flight ticket receipt. Now i expect United will claim US Airways was the one providing the flight and hence the lapse in customer service. I figure six months till resolution on this project....... Dear Mr. ---------- ...

I have been to quite a few Apple stores in several states and have always found the employees to be extremely helpful and patient. They leave you alone when you want be left alone and are available to answer questions when you need them. Consistently great experiences.

"Edit: just realized that it was an old thread with things already resolved. Leaving my response in for anyone in the future in a similar boat" ----- I didn't read all the responses in detail, so this might have been already covered. It depends on the amount of non-work travel time compare...

If you show them how the performance of 100K in this stock compared to 100K in the index over a large time frame (after the explosion), would that take care of the 15% tax difference? That could be a way to convince them. When they are in retirement and low tax bracket, you can at least have them se...

We have always rented and pretty much have a similar mindset to yours. To me, homeowners give up time. Financially also I think we did better than we would have. I would feel chained/tied down if I bought a place :( too much hassle. Like the freedom. If at some point in life DH and I want to settle ...

On average, women *do* have different needs. We are significantly more likely to live longer, we are less likely to have a spouse to help us if and when we become too frail to care for ourselves (so we are more likely to have LTC issues--just visit any nursing home or assisted living facility and y...

Make sure you are aware of the rules for capital gains when you sell. I believe it is something like "owner should reside in 2 out of 5 years before sale". So if your return to NY gets delayed or the prices when you want to sell are not to your liking, you might lose that exemption. Given ...

Responding to my own post above ... just realized I can't contribute to IRA to lower MAGI because our income is solely from investments - neither of us work. Well, that cuts off that idea. I guess our only way to lower MAGI then is the HSA. There's a subtle balancing act here to consider: remember ...

Hmm that is an interesting perspective. I do think renting is a good compromise in the sense that I would be able to put some money towards investing/saving for a down payment each month and after marriage I would at least have my own place. The tough thing to swallow is that the rental rates aroun...

I was discussing health insurance options with my wife and she made the interesting point that if you take the more expensive health insurance, to which the employer contributes more dollars, you are effectively getting paid more by your employer. For example we have the following options. ... With...

Given the number of questions on Bogleheads asking for Health Insurance comparisons part of 2015 Annual Enrollment, I have come up with an Excel model comparing health insurance options like PPO, HDHP (with HSA). Download from here (Bogleheads does not allow attachments) http://www.filedropper.com/c...

The strength/coverage of signal also depends on the phone instrument/model you are using. And apparently also on the SIM technology. When I upgraded my phone recently (same phone number, carrier, coverage, plan), I am getting coverage in regions I was not getting past couple of years. In my case bot...

Given the number of questions on Bogleheads asking for Health Insurance comparisons, I have come up with an Excel model comparing health insurance options like PPO, HDHP (with HSA) that are part of 2015 Annual Enrollment. Download from here (Bogleheads does not allow attachments) http://www.filedrop...

Jane1, It appears you have to sign up to be a member at that other site to download the file, is that correct? I will try that out before I post a question on here because I am comparing my wife's company's ppo vs my company's hsa with a spousal surcharge. I have never had a ppo, so don't really kn...

Jane1, It appears you have to sign up to be a member at that other site to download the file, is that correct? I will try that out before I post a question on here because I am comparing my wife's company's ppo vs my company's hsa with a spousal surcharge. I have never had a ppo, so don't really kn...

Given the number of questions on Bogleheads asking for Health Insurance comparisons, I have come up with an Excel model comparing health insurance options like PPO, HDHP (with HSA) that are part of 2015 Annual Enrollment. Use the "Input & Data" tab to input your premiums, deductible, O...

Based on the information you have provided, HSA would seem to come out ahead under all spend scenarios assuming you contribute fully to HSA and get tax benefits. Although as someone else pointed out, you should double-check your OOP Max, and maybe deductible since they don't seem quite right. Your a...

Given the number of questions on Bogleheads asking for Health Insurance comparisons, I have come up with an Excel model comparing health insurance options like PPO, HDHP (with HSA) that are part of 2015 Annual Enrollment. Since you guys are relatively healthy, you would come out ahead with the HSA u...

It would seem HSA makes more sense, likely under all spending scenarios. Especially if maximize your contribution into the HSA. But you will have to do the math in more details taking tax implications. Likely your premiums are also pre-tax. What is your marginal tax rate - federal, state, SS. Does y...

You can also buy a previous-year-model brand new car once the current-models are released. I have seen savings of 15% in the past. If you are going to drive it to the ground, the resale value does not matter.

Savings, if any, will be based on your state/local incentives as well as gas and electricity prices in your area (current and projected). If you are doing it primarily to save money, you may find the math doesn't quite work out. In some areas, the cost of charging at home offsets a large part of gas...

For a first smartphone, I would recommend going with an entry-level ($100-$150) previous generation model new or refurbished android. Preferably stock android - Nexus, Moto. Don't go for one of the 2-year contract fancy ones. Play with it for a year or 2, see what you use often (text, maps, calendar...

Avoid driving in downtown as much as possible. Park in one place and take CTA or El (elevated train). Millennium Park (Bean/Cloudgate, kids love getting wet in Crowne Fountain although it might be closed for the winter) Navy Pier and Giant Wheel, maybe Children's museum for the younger kids Architec...

What will be your marginal federal and state (which?) tax rate in 2015? If you can afford to put the max allowable in HSA (~$6600), that could result in additional "savings" of a couple of thousand compared to the PPO options. If you are spreadsheet savvy, put the options and model it with...

Does this actually prevent pro rata issues if you're not pulling the entire amount out of the account? Appears (although my interpretation could be wrong since I could barely understand the examples!) that the amount distributed is still subject to pro-rata rules between pre-tax and after-tax, so y...

I always do my own planning and booking. First thing - go to your public library and get a London/England guidebook. Fodor's, Rick Steves, Frommer's, Lonely Planet, etc all have the practical advice you need. i.e. how to get there, how to get around, where to stay, where to eat, what to see, etc. Lo...

North Africa is not on my list at this time. The best way I can describe what I want to do in the Mediterranean would be similar for a northern snowbird to visit Miami for a few months and visit points within a 1-2 hour drive. Repeat following year at Fort Myers, repeat in St. Petersburg, repeat in...

Europe only? African side of the Med may be more affordable if that is important. Tunis (Tunisia) or Alexandria (Egypt)? Do you want tourist destinations close by? It appears you mainly want to hang out in that town. Correct? How often do you expect to use your apartment as a base to travel in the r...

Here are some relatively inexpensive places that are clean, quiet, and safe. And they're interesting in the sense you most desire: being places where you'll meet lots of global travelers. They're also interesting because of their natural beauty. If you like to walk and hike, you'll enjoy them even ...

You can use Siri to create an event in your iPhone. It is fairly easy once you get a hang of it. That way you don't have to worry about typing on small screen.Google for tips on using Siri for calendar events.

Lot of people do "world" cruises in sections. The cruise-lines typically give you such options as well. I know it is not the same as doing the entire thing but there are advantages of splitting it across multiple years.Bills on autopay.